Various styles of conventional refrigerators (e.g., a side-by-side refrigerator) typically have one or more vertically oriented doors to provide access to the internal storage compartments of the appliance. The top hinge assemblies for these doors usually include a hinge bracket that is mounted to the top wall of the refrigerator casing adjacent to the side of the refrigerator. The bracket extends laterally outward from the casing and mates (via a hinge pin) with a receiver in the corresponding hinge component mounted to the door. The bracket may have a stepped profile to accommodate the door height.
The externally mounted brackets on the top of the refrigerator casing are readily visible and detract from the overall aesthetics of the appliance. In this regard, caps or other decorative devices are commonly attached over the brackets to mask their appearance. With other conventional designs, the height of the refrigerator doors is increased to extend above the top of the casing so as to hide the hinge components when the door is closed. The height of the brackets and attached caps above the top surface of the casing or increased height of the doors, are thus the limiting design height restraints of the refrigerator. Any space in a cabinet, wall, or other enclosure structure in which the refrigerator is located must have a vertical height so as to accommodate the brackets/caps or increased door height. The additional volume of space required to accommodate the brackets/caps or doors can be substantial and is essentially wasted.
U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0284116 describes a refrigerator having a reinforcement frame attached to the appliance housing. The door hinges are secured to the reinforcement frame and may be housed in a recessed pocket formed in the frame. This type of reinforcement structure is generally not applicable or reasonable for conventional residential refrigerator designs.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a refrigerator hinge assembly that hides the hinge brackets and makes efficient use of the additional volume of space needed to accommodate the brackets.